N.C. A&T Alumni Times

Newlyweds, William Bell ‘55 and Omega Brown Bell, sat down with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb on the NBC Today Show on Oct. 19, to share their phenomenal love story. The two were introduced by a professor at North Carolina A&T College in 1952. At that time, William, who had previously served in the military, was a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in vocational and industrial studies, and Omega, a recent high school graduate, was a professional nanny for the professor. The two fell in love and the relationship remained steady for two years until William graduated college and moved to Maryland to pursue a career in the shipyard in Sparrows Point.

William and Omega lost touch, married their respective spouses and started families of their own. At the age of 62, Omega separated from her husband, and at 65 William’s wife passed away due to a stroke.

In 2016, the couple would reunite after the passing of William’s brother, Warner. Eventually, Omega shared with her family that she had dated Warner’s brother and her children soon realized that their mother still had romantic feelings for him. Her daughter and niece decided to play matchmaker reuniting the two. William made his first initial phone call to Omega the week of Valentine’s Day and he shared with her that she was his “greatest love.” To prove his love, he told her that for more than 60 years, through marriage, children and grandchildren, he had kept a framed photo of her locked away that was signed, “Love always.”

The two reminisced about the love they had for each other and caught each other up on their families, children, grandchildren and careers. They didn’t waste a minute on making a commitment to each other in their 80’s, they were engaged in a few months and on Oct. 7 during The Greatest Homecoming on Earth they would marry each other at Brown’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Gibsonville, North Carolina.

To view their story on the Today Show, click here